American Museum of Natural History Presents Programs and Events in November

A Night at the Museum Sleepovers
$145 per person

($135 for Members)
Visit amnh.org/sleepovers for available dates and further details including pricing for Scout nights.
Break out your sleeping bags and experience the Museum like never before. During A Night at the Museum, the Museum's popular sleepover program, guests will explore the halls of the Museum, including the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, Cullman Hall of the Universe, and the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, where they will find T. rex. Then, participants will settle down beneath the 94-foot-long blue whale in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, around the African elephants in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals, or at the base of a volcano in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth. This unique after-hours program will thrill kids ages 6 to 13 and their caregivers.

2013 Sleepover dates include:

Saturday, November 2, 6 pm to Sunday, November 3, 9 am, Cub/Boy Scout Night

Friday, November 15, 6 pm to Saturday, November 16, 9 am, Brownie/Girl Scout Night

Friday, December 6, 6pm to Saturday, December 7, 9 am

Pick Your Poison: Understanding Mind-Altering Drugs and Medications
Five Mondays, November 4, 18, 25, and December 2 and 9, from 6 pm to 8 pm

Adult Course
$295 ($240 for Members and educators)
The world is a pretty toxic place. We are surrounded by animals, plants, and chemicals that can poison us, though we usually take in select toxins-coffee, chocolate, and ethanol-in non-lethal doses. What's more, entire industries try to sell products that promise to improve or alter brain performance. But what happens to our brain chemistry when we use antidepressants, amphetamines, or caffeine? Why do we poison ourselves for pleasure, and why is it difficult to overcome substance addiction? Do animals "take" drugs? Participants in this course will gain a better understanding of which chemicals, and at what dosages, influence brain function and when we are most vulnerable to "poisoning" ourselves; unpack current scientific research around the topic; and receive resources that can inform decisions about long-term health.

Science Fiction Atmospheres with Ray Pierrehumbert

Monday, November 4, at 7:30 pm

Hayden Planetarium

Space Theater

$15 ($13.50 students, seniors)

$12 for Members

Enter at 81st Street

Join Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Louis Block Professor in Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, as he reviews speculations about imagined planetary atmospheres in science fiction as a hook to discuss what we know about actual planets and exoplanets-and how we know it. Using some of the issues raised by newly discovered exoplanets, -including planets where it may actually snow sapphires, Pierrehumbert will introduce some possible plot lines that have not yet been exploited in fiction.

SciCafe: The Story of the Human Body
Wednesday, November 6
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Program begins at 7 pm
Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis
Free with cash bar
21+ with ID
Enter at 77th Street
How and why is the human body the way it is? What did evolution adapt our bodies for? And how is the human body changing today? To address these questions, evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman will examine the major evolutionary transformations that have shaped the human body since we diverged from the apes, and how our bodies have further evolved and changed-for the better and the worse-since the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

This SciCafe event is presented in collaboration with The Leakey Foundation.

Adventures in the Global Kitchen: Taste the Museum: A Walking Food Tour

Thursday, November 7, at 6:30 pm

$40
Enter at 77th Street
Take an after-hours culinary journey through the Museum. On this walking food tour, participants will learn about traditional tea ceremonies from around the world. Complete with tea tastings, culinary history, cooking techniques, and more, with inspiration from Museum halls and collections.

Tea tastings provided by Harney & Sons Fine Teas.

Family Astronomy in the Dome: Constellations Across Cultures

Saturday, November 9

6:30 pm

Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

$12 ($10 Members)

Enter at 81st Street
You may have seen the Big Dipper in the sky, but what about the Plough, or the Revolving Man? Learn about a variety of constellations that you can see in the night sky in this program in the Hayden Planetarium, and compare these to how people in other parts of the world view the same patterns.

The Wallace Centenary Celebration
Tuesday, November 12, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

Kaufmann Theater

Free (Reservations required; please call 212-769-5200)

Enter at 77th Street
This year marks the centenary of the death of naturalist-explorer Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), the co-founder, with Charles Darwin, of evolutionary biology, and this special all-day program features a diverse roster of speakers on many facets of Wallace's life and work.

The Wallace Centenary Celebration is co-produced by the Ornithology Department at the American Museum of Natural History and by Richard Milner, historian of science and associate in the Museum's Division of Anthropology.

Alfred Russel Wallace and the Birds of Paradise with Sir David Attenborough

Tuesday, November 12, at 7:30 pm

Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Theater

$15 ($13.50 seniors, students)

$12 for Members

Enter at 77th Street
To cap off the Wallace Centenary Celebration (see above), this special evening lecture features internationally celebrated wildlife filmmaker Sir David Attenborough, speaking on "Alfred Russel Wallace and the Birds of Paradise." Attenborough shares a passion for the birds of paradise with Wallace, who spent eight years seeking them in his travels through the Malay Archipelago.

Following the lecture, Sir David and co-author Errol Fuller will sign copies of their book Drawn from Paradise.

Astronomy Live: Rendezvous with ISON: Comet of the Century? with Joe Rao

Tuesday, November 26, at 6:30 pm

$15 ($13.50 students, seniors)

$12 for Members

Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

Enter at 81st Street
Comet ISON will come within just 750,000 miles of the Sun's surface on Thanksgiving Day,: Thursday, November 28. That's over 100 times closer to the Sun than Earth! This close pass might cause Comet ISON to break into pieces; but if it stays intact, Comet ISON should become very bright. It might even become bright enough to be seen from Earth in the daytime, and may go on to have a dazzling showing in December 2013, as you'll learn in this talk by Joe Rao.

Support for Hayden Planetarium Programs is provided by the Schaffner Family.

Museum Info

Hours

The Museum is open daily, 10 am-5:45 pm. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission

Museum admission is free to all New York City school and camp groups.

Suggested general admission, which supports the Museum's scientific and educational endeavors and offers access to the Museum's 46 halls including the Rose Center for Earth and Space, is $22 (adults) suggested, $17 (students/seniors) suggested, $12.50 (children) suggested. All prices are subject to change.

The Museum offers discounted combination ticket prices that include suggested general admission plus special exhibitions, IMAX films, and Space Shows.

• Museum Plus One includes one special exhibition, IMAX film, or Space Show: $27 (adults), $22 (students/seniors), $16 (children)

• Museum Supersaver includes all special exhibitions, IMAX film, and Space Show: $35 (adults), $28 (students/seniors), $22 (children)

Visitors who wish to pay less than the suggested Museum admission and also purchase a ticket to attend a special exhibition, IMAX film, or Space Show may do so on-site at the Museum. To the amount they wish to pay for general admission, they add $25 (adults), $20.50 (students/seniors), or $13.50 (children) for a Space Show, special exhibition, or IMAX film.

Public Information

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum's website at amnh.org.

Prepare for your Museum visit by downloading the new American Museum of Natural History Explorer App, a groundbreaking enhanced navigation tool available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.iTunes.com/appstore/. The Explorer pinpoints your location within the Museum and offers turn-by-turn directions and customized tours, a fossil treasure hunt, and social media links for posting to Facebook and Twitter.

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